Issues as governorship contest shifts to tribunals

As the 2015 electoral battles shift to the tribunals, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, in this report, identifies some of the major issues under contest in the governorship race

In Nigeria, the contest at the tribunal is the last lap of the electoral battle. Unlike the other phases, like the election proper, where the contestants may win voters’ support by making mere promises, victory at the tribunals is determined primarily by logical presentation of facts or evidence as proof of being the preferred candidate. So, issues and facts, rather than mere display of real or artificial support at election rallies, are the central kernel that determines the final winner.

For the 2015 governorship race, the tribunals have become the final battleground and the petitioners are understandably not taking the matter lightly. So, in the states where the governorship election is under contention, petitioners are making grave allegations of rigging, malpractice and other forms of manipulation that resulted in the announced results which they are contesting.

As a result, one of the most recurring preliminary requests of petitioners is for leave to inspect the ballot papers and results sheets used in the elections. So far, the tribunal judges have granted such requests with ease, a development observers say may signal prompt dispensation of justice within the specified period of 180 days. Another major issue so far is the demand to compare the number of accredited voters with the aid of card reader with the number of votes cast. The contention is that in some of the states hotly contested, the petitioners are alleging that the accredited voters do not tally with votes cast. It remains to be seen how the tribunals will rule on this intriguing matter.

Some of the states where the governorship contest is generating so much heat include:

Rivers

In Rivers State, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike, as the governor-elect, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside are contesting the result.

The contest is so hot that Rivers Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is sitting in Abuja instead of in Port Harcourt.

It would be recalled that Wike was declared winner of the election, having polled 1,029,102, which represents 87.77 percent of the votes while the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, came second with 124,896 votes (10.65 percent).

APC has since condemned and rejected the result even as some international monitors insisted there was no election in the state. Also, APC in the state accused INEC of frustrating its petition before the tribunal. The first major controversy was on alleged refusal of INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner’s refusal to release relevant electoral documents to APC to enable it file its petition.

Before finally filing the petition, the State Chairman of the APC, Davies Ikanya, had to call on the world to prevail on the REC, Dame Gesila Khan, to release the election documents to enable it meet up with the deadline in filing its petition at the election tribunal.

He said the party had severally, officially written to INEC in the state and appealed to the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for the release of election documents, stressing that the REC had refused to provide the materials.

Ikanya said the party resorted to calling for the world’s intervention because it had exhausted available means to get the election documents from the REC.

According to him: “The difficulty in getting the documents has confirmed our fear that the result sheets never existed.” He also alleged that out of the 17 documents requested only one was released to his team.

But the INEC denied the allegation as said it never denied APC access to documents to challenge election results at the tribunal.

Mr. Roy Obijuru, the Administrative Secretary of INEC in the state, said the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan, had released documents to the APC on demand.

He said INEC received an application from APC on April 12 to release Certified True Copy of forms EC8C, EC8C (1) and EC40 (G) for the Governorship and House of Assembly elections for the 23 local government areas.

“Records show that representatives of APC in the state and other political parties that applied commenced the collection of the requested documents from April 16 to April 29.”

The statement said a second application for Certified True of Forms and Electoral Documents for the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in the 23 local government areas of the state was received on April 28.

Another controversy was on service of court summons. Peterside had to file a motion ex-parte which, amongst others prayed an Abuja court to grant a leave to the petitioner to bring his application outside or before the hearing session.

Other prayers sought by the petitioner included an order for him to argue some issues outside or before the hearing session.

He also sought for an order for the petitioner to deliver to the third respondent, the PDP, the court processes through the state chapter of the party.

His counsel, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) told the court that the bailiff of the Court of Appeal in Rivers has tried twice to affect the service of court processes on the governor-elect but was not successful. According to Akeredolu, the motion ex-parte is supported with a 19 paragraph-affidavit of non-service and a written address to support the argument.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Mu’azu Pindiga, granted the application after listening to a motion ex-parte brought by the petitioner’s counsel, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

The grand battle at the courts for the Rivers State’s governorship seat has just begun and may likely last beyond the May 29 swearing-in date.

Cross River

Another state where the battle at the tribunal is red hot is Cross River. There, the tribunal, before commencing sitting, announced that it received 26 petitions from aggrieved politicians and political parties that contested the March 28, National Assembly and April 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections.

The secretary of the tribunal, Mr. John Tsok, who made the announcement in Calabar also spoke with journalists, when he said, “As we speak, the tribunal has received four petitions for senatorial election, nine for House of Representatives, two governorship and eleven for the state House of Assembly.

More than the other petitions, the governorship election petitions are generating ripples in the state. At its inaugural sitting at the Federal High Court complex, the Cross River State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which has members like Justice Muniya Olusegun Olagunji and Khadi Musa Babayo, the tribunal chairman, Justice Aliyu Mohammed Mayaki, recalled that the tribunal was constituted by the President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Z. Bulkachuwa, pursuant to section 285 of the Nigerian Constitution.

He said the case before the tribunal is against the governor-elect, Ben Ayade of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) filed by the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the just-concluded election, Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo and Sylvester Nsa, who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Before the commencement of the tribunal sitting, there was tension in the state over the outcome of the governorship election. Both APC and Labour Party are not convinced that PDP candidate won the election.

For example, there were reports of how the APC chieftains in the Akwa Ibom, painted the picture before the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, on how the PDP allegedly rigged the polls conducted in the state.

According to Akwa Ibom State APC stakeholders, led by the APC governorship candidate, Umana Okon Umana, the results declared contradicted the number of voters accredited through the card reader machine used in verifying the Permanent Voters Cards at the polling units.

Whereas the card reader captured 437,128 voters and transmitted same to INEC in Abuja, for the governorship and House of Assembly elections, the figure declared by the state INEC office was 1,122,836 – a difference of 685,708.

As they put it before the president-elect, “Your Excellency, we are pleased to inform you that we have challenged the outcome of the purported elections at the Tribunals.

“It may interest you, Sir, to know also that figures declared in the elections by the Akwa Ibom State INEC office were at variance significantly with figures captured by card readers and transmitted to INEC database in the Commission office in Abuja.

“For instance, data obtained from INEC Head Office in Abuja show that the total number of accredited voters captured by card readers for the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom State was 437,128, but the figure declared by the state INEC office was 1,122,836.”

This will form the primary issue before the tribunal.

Lagos

In Lagos, where PDP governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje, is challenging the victory of APC’s Akinwunmi Ambode, the Election Petitions Tribunal at its inaugural sitting at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja Division, Justice Sylvanus Oriji, Chairman, Lagos State National and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal said election petitions are “delicate and sensitive to handle because they must be heard and determined within 180 days as specified by Section 285 (6) of the 1999 Constitution.”

The judge said it was now established that any judgment delivered by an election tribunal in an election petition after 180 days from the date of filing is a nullity.

He urged lawyers to give the tribunal the necessary support and co-operation both at the pre-hearing conferences and throughout the hearing of the petitions.

“Without your co-operation, it will be difficult for the tribunal to succeed in its onerous task to conclude all the pending election petitions within 180 days as stipulated by the Constitution.

“In this regard, the tribunal will not tolerate any action or omission (or strategy) aimed at delaying or frustrating the expeditious hearing and determination of the petitions.”

On the governorship election petition, Oriji first granted leave to the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jimi Agbaje to inspect election materials used for the April 11, 2015 elections.

The judge ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide Certified True Copies (CTC) of all polling documents, including printed data from card reader machines in every polling unit in the state.

The orders were among the two prayers out of five prayers filed by the Agbaje before the tribunal through his counsel, Clement Onwuenmunor. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is represented in the matter by Ademola Sadiq.

The petitioner had through his counsel, Onwuenmunor urged the tribunal to order INEC to provide CTC of all polling documents including printed data from card reader machines in each polling units in the state.

Responding to the ruling, counsel to APC, Sadiq, did not object, saying the ruling was made on point of law.

Sokoto

In Sokoto State, the Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Anselem Nwaigwe, in his inaugural speech also cautioned petitioners against any attempt to influence the members of the tribunal.

According him, “any attempt to influence members of the tribunal would be resisted, while the full weight of the law would be visited on such persons.”

Nwaigwe said the outcome of the just-concluded 2015 general elections gave rise to the four petition already received by the tribunal in the state.

Yobe:

Yobe is another state where the tribunal, which is sitting in Abuja commenced by granting the PDP candidate in the April 11, poll, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri, permission to inspect the materials used by the INEC for the conduct of the poll.

The tribunal headed by Justice Mojisola Dada, granted the order for inspection of the polling materials in her ruling on an ex parte application filed by Waziri, through his counsel, Folashade Aofolaju.

Justice Dada was the only member of the panel in attendance during the proceedings, which were solely scheduled for hearing the petitioners’ ex parte application.